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JUDAH TOUEO, MERCHANT AND 
PHILANTHROPIST. 



By max J. KOHLER, A. M., LL. B. 



Reprinted from 

Publications of the 

American Jewish Historical Socibtt, 

No. 13, 1905. 



1-377 



JUDAH TOUEO, MERCHANT AND 
PHILANTHROPIST. 

By Max J. Kohleb, A. M., LL. B. 

It is a strange circumstance that no paper devoted to Judak 
Touro has thus far been presented at any of our meetings, 
nor has any sketch of his distinguished career, worthy of the 
name, been thus far published, certainly not any emanating 
from a Jewish pen. The result is that little definite infor- 
mation concerning Touro is conveniently accessible, and, in 
consequence, we find the four enormous tomes of Fortier's 
History of New Orleans, Just published, absolutely ignoring 
the very name of one who would probably by common consent 
be singled out as the most prominent American Jew of the 
first half of the nineteenth century. One familiar with the 
relations between the investigations of local historical socie- 
ties and more general historical writings, can readily account 
for the general historian's neglect of an individual's career, 
ignored even by his own near ones. It is, accordingly, to such 
specialized investigations as our own, that the general his- 
torian is likely to turn before including or excluding an indi- 
vidual in his general histories, particularly if the man in 
question did not figure prominently in the political or mili- 
tary history of his time. 

A couple of biographical sketches of Judah Touro, written 
within a few years after his death, and strangely enough, by 
non-Jewish writers, are still our most detailed and satis- 
factory authorities on his career and tend to show in what 
high regard his contemporaries held him. Judge Alexander 
Walker's biography ' and the Rev. Theodore Clapp's personal 

' In the second volume of Hunt's " Lives of American Mer- 
chants," published in 1856. 

93 



94 American Jewish Historical Society. 

reminiscences in his " Autobiographical Sketches and Eecol- 
lections During a Thirty-five Years' Residence in New Or- 
leans" (1858) are still our chief sources of information; 
though few persons seeking light on Touro's career would be 
likely to look for it in such little-known works. The biog- 
raphy of him which Isaac Leeser called for in his obituary 
sketch ' still remains unwritten^ though to-day the personal 
reminiscences and documentary material of half a century ago 
are for the most part no longer, it is to be feared, extant. 
Judah Touro, merchant prince and philanthropist, was known 
in his day from Newport and Boston, the cities of his infancy 
and early youth, to far distant New Orleans, the city of his 
maturity, as " An Israelite indeed, in whom there was no 
guile," as typical of what is best in the Jewish character, and 
more than any other resident co-religionist, inspired respect 
and admiration among Jew and Gentile alike for the Jewish 
name in America. And beyond that, his generous, well-nigh 
unprecedentedly large-scaled and diversified philanthropic 
gifts made it possible for the various American Jewish com- 
munities to undertake institutional charitable work theretofore 
impossible, in view of the small and humble means at their 
disposal, so that, throughout the land he pre-eminently laid the 
foundations for those noble Jewish charities which have ever 
since been the pride and the boast of American Jewry. 

Judah Touro was born at Newport, Ehode Island, on June 
16, 1775, and in his maturity he often rejoiced at the circum- 
stance that his individual career thus began with that of his 
beloved country. His father was the Eev. Isaac Touro, min- 
ister of the Newport Jewish Congregation, whose assumption 
of activities at its helm was marked soon after, in 1763, by 
the dedication of its first synagogue building, its first ceme- 
tery being more than a century older, and concerning whose 
career our society has already published various items.^ Isaac 

' The Occident, Vol. XI, p. 594, March, 1854. 
' See Max J. Kohler on " The Jews in Newport," American Jew- 
ish Historical Society Publications, Vol. VI; Prof. Morris Jas- 



Gift 
Authc: 

(Person^ 

19 JI'OP 



Judah Touro — Koliler. 95 

Touro married Reyna Hays, the sister of Moses Michael Hays, 
in 1773, and they had three children — Abraham, Judah, and 
Eebecca; the latter became the wife of Joshua Lopez, and 
died in New York in 1833. The large majority of the mem- 
bers of the Jewish community of Newport having left the city 
during the Eevolution, Eev. Isaac Touro and his family de- 
parted for Kingston, Jamaica, where he died on December 
8, 1783. His "uadow and children returned to this country, 
and became members of the household of Moses Michael Hays, 
brother of Mrs. Touro, who was at this time one of the lead- 
ing merchants of Boston; there Mrs. Touro died on Septem- 
ber 18, 1787. In the home and office of Moses M. Hays, 
Abraham and Judah Touro had inculcated in them not merely 
those principles of rectitude and business acumen which stood 
them in such good stead throughout their lives, but they were 
also brought into close contact and personal intimacy with emi- 
nent non-Jews, and acquired respect for the opinions and views 
of those of different faith and mental equipment, and the ac- 
companying increased breadth of view, Michael Moses Hays 
was an intimate friend of Harrison Gray Otis, a son of the 
patriot James Otis, and himself United States Senator and 
Mayor of Boston, and of Thomas H. Perkins, projector of the 
first American railroad and a distinguished philanthropist, 
while such younger men as Rev. Samuel J. May, the abolition- 
ist leader, made the Hays' household a second home. To these 
early associations can probably be traced the sentiments which 
induced Judah Touro, in his New Orleans home, to purchase 
slaves with a view to restoring them to liberty. Abraham and 
Judah Touro acquired a practical knowledge of affairs and 

trow, " References to Jews in the Diary of Ezra Stiles," Ihid., 
No. 10; Rev. W. Willner, "Ezra Stiles and the Jews," Ihid., No. 
8; N. Taylor Phillips, " The Levy and Seixas Families of Newport 
and New York," Ihid., No. 4; George E. Mason's "Reminiscences 
of Newport," Rev. A. P. Mendes, " The Jewish Cemetery at New- 
port," Rhode Island Historical Magazine, Vol. VI, pp. 81-105; 
Rev. Geo. A. Kohut, " Ezra Stiles and the Jews." 



96 American Jewish Historical Society. 

commercial procedure in their uncle's counting-room, and in 
1798 Judah was sent along as supercargo in connection with. 
a valuable shipment made by his uncle to the Mediterranean. 
The voyage was marked by a desperate conflict between their 
vessel and a French privateer, in spite of which it was a com- 
mercial success. His Boston associates and connections ad- 
vised him, soon after, to mi,grate to New Orleans, then still a 
French possession, where he arrived in February, 1802, after 
a voyage lasting from October. His numerous Yankee friends 
knew that they could absolutely rely on his integrity and judg- 
ment to handle, with the best results, the consignments they 
made to him, and he soon built up a flourishing business in 
New Orleans, which made him one of this country's " mer- 
chant princes." A copy of Mason's " Eeminiscences of New- 
port," expanded by the insertion of portraits and manuscripts 
into six volumes, which was acquired by the Lenox Library 
from the collections of the distinguished historian, George 
Bancroft, contains an autograph business letter from Judah 
Touro to one of his New England correspondents, C. G. Cham- 
plain, United States Senator from Ehode Island, which throws 
light on the scope of his business dealings. 

Tradition has it that he formed a romantic attachment for 
his cousin, Catherine Hays, in these early days, but that their 
near relationship precluded their marrying, so that each re- 
mained single. She subsequently removed to Eichmond, Va., 
and died the very month Judah Touro himself died, January, 
1834. She was remembered in his will, executed that very 
month in ignorance of her death. 

Abraham Touro, Judah's brother, died, unmarried, in Bos- 
ton, October 18, 1822, at the age of 48, in consequence of an 
accident to the carriage in which he was driving; at his 
especial request he was buried in the Jewish Cemetery at New- 
port, though the Jewish community of that town had been 
scattered long before. Two years previously he had caused 
a substantial brick wall to be erected around the cemetery, for 
which he made further provision by his will, which contained 



Judah Touro — K older . 97 

a number of larger charitable bequests, principally to Boston 
institutions, though the Jewish synagogues of New York and 
Newport were liberally remembered. It is due particularly 
to the overshadowing fame of his brother that posterity recog- 
nizes the philanthropic gifts of Abraham Touro so slightly. 

Eeturning to Judah Touro's career, we note that he patriot- 
ically recognized the claims of his country upon him during 
the War of 1812, and thrust aside his large business interests, 
in order to enlist in the ranks during the siege of New Or- 
leans. After having served as a common soldier, he volun- 
teered his services to aid in carrying shot and shell to one of 
the American batteries during a British cannonade, and while 
in the performance of this duty he was struck by a twelve- 
pound shot on January 1, 1813, and so seriously injured that 
he was left for dead. Here an intimate friend, Eezin D. 
Shepherd, found him and saved his life after the physicians 
had abandoned all hope. Their intimacy till Touro's death 
was great to the point of romance, and nearly forty years later 
Judah Touro, in his last will, refers to the circumstance of 
Shepherd's preservation of his life " under Divine Provi- 
dence," and appointed him his residuary legatee. As Shep- 
herd had independent means of his own, he treated this large 
bequest as a trust to be administered for charitable purposes, 
so that Touro's bequests even exceeded the amounts so de- 
scribed in the will itself. 

Judge Walker, in the biographical sketch already referred 
to, summarizes his commercial career as follows : " He began 
a brisk and profitable trade in soap, candles, codfish, and other 
exports of New England, making prompt returns to his 
friends in Boston. His fidelit}^ integrity, and good man- 
agement soon secured him a large New England trade, every 
vessel from that section bringing him large consignments, and 
many ships being placed at his disposal, as agent, to obtain 
cargoes and collect freight. His business was prosperous, his 
funds accumulated. He invested his surplus judiciously in 
ships and in real estate, which rapidly advanced in value. His 



98 American Jewish Historical Society. 

career as a merchant was one of honest, methodical labor and 
stem fidelity to the principles of legitimate trade, never em- 
barking in any hazardous ventures or speculations, never turn- 
ing aside from his line of business, and adhering rigidly to 
the cash system. Such a career presents but few incidents 
of interest/^ He was as methodical and regular as a clock. 
His neighbors were in the habit of judging the time of day 
by his movements. In his business he rarely employed more 
than one clerk, and he was generally a lad. It was his cus- 
tom to open his store himself at sunrise and close it at sunset. 
He attended to all his affairs himself, and had them so well 
arranged that there was no possibility of any misunder- 
standing. 

It is the circumstance that Judah Touro's whole life was 
devoted to personal charitable service, knowing no limits of 
age, creed, or race, and so intelligently administered as to 
work the maximum of good in every instance, that has made 
his name immortal, as are the names of few other philanthro- 
pists. Other men during his liftime also amassed large for- 
tunes and gave liberally spasmodically or by their last wills, 
yet unlike Judah Touro they are forgotten. The public, not- 
withstanding his modesty and retiring disposition, knew that 
his whole life was consistently devoted to intelligent philan- 
thropic action. Judge "Walker, who was a resident of New 
Orleans at the time of his death and for many years pre- 
viously, well says of him : " It was the death of a man who 
had won a renown nobler, higher, and more enduring than 
that which the most successful merchant, the most daring 
warrior, or the most gifted author ever earned. Who that saw 
him in life would have anticipated such fervent demonstra- 
tions of popular affection and grief at his death ? How little 
of the hero or great man was there in the simple, humble 
aspect of that timid, shrinking old man, who was wont to 
glide so silently and diffidently through the streets, with his 
hands behind him, his eyes fixed on the pavement, and his 
homely old face, wrinkled with age but replete with the ex- 



Judah Toiiro — Kohler. 99 

pression of genial kindness and benevolence. He was, too, 
a man of no great deeds, or public services, or brilliant quali- 
ties. And yet, when the tidings of his decease go forth a 
whole people, a reckless, frivolous and cynical people, turn 
aside from their various pursuits of pleasure or ambition, to 
bewail with heartfelt sorrow his departure. And he died a 
millionaire. The people do not usually sorrow over the death 
of the rich man. ... It is rare, indeed, that the man who 
does his duty by his fellow-men in life, accumulates large 
wealth. . . . Wealth seemed to flow into his coffers as the 
reward of a boundless and incessant benevolence and benefi- 
cence — an ever-active philanthropy. His career was a 
splendid illustration of the Divine injunction and promise 
' Cast thy bread on the waters, and after many days it shall 
return to thee.' Avarice, the love of money for its own sake, 
were as foreign to his nature as dishonesty and falsehood. He 
deprived himself of all other luxuries in order to enjoy and 
gratify with keener relish and greater intensity his single 
passion and appetite — to do good to his fellow-men. He was 
a miser only in the exercise of his charity and benevolence, 
from which he jealously excluded others. His only art and 
stealth were displayed in the concealment of his benefactions, 
and his chief vexation and trouble were to avoid the ostenta- 
tion and display which are too often the main incentive to 
liberal and benevolent deeds." 

Turning from Judge Walker's panegyric, we must confess 
that Judah Touro's shrinking, retiring nature permitted the 
public to know of but a small fraction of his many benefac- 
tions, and familiarity with but a fraction, numerous as they 
are, has been handed down to us. The time was one when 
large gifts to charitable and other public ends were not as 
common as they are now. When he donated $10,000 towards 
the erection of the Bunker Hill Monument in 1840, those in- 
terested in raising the necessary funds had almost given up 
their project in despair. Though the cornerstone was laid 
already in 1826, on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle. 



100 American Jewish Historical Society. 

Amos Laurence's generous offers of aid met with no material 
response, even when aided by the eloquent appeals of Edward 
Everett and Daniel Webster, until Judah Touro privately 
offered to contribute $10,000, duplicating a similar offer of 
Amos Laurence made in 1839, provided the remaining neces- 
sary $30,000 would be raised. It is said that he was so in- 
dignant at the publication of his name, notwithstanding his 
injunctions of secrecy in connection with the offer, that he 
seriously thought of withdrawing his offer for a time. Prob- 
ably this generous benefaction to New England from a Jew- 
ish resident of distant New Orleans, more than any other 
single gift, made Touro's benefactions familiar to the world, 
and well might it be, when, on the occasion of the dedication 
of the monument in 1843, in the presence of the President of 
the United States and Daniel Webster as orator, his generosity 
was commemorated by the presiding officer who read these 
lines, since become famous : 

Amos and Judah — venerated names! 

Patriarch and prophet press their equal claims, 

Like generous coursers, running neck and neck. 

Each aids the work by giving it a check. 

Christian and Jew, they carry out a plan — 

For though of different faith, each is in heart a man. 

Judah Touro's private benefactions were munificent 
throughout his lifetime, and the recipients thereof were often 
astonished at the degree of his generosity. An illustration 
in point is set forth by the Eev. Theodore Clapp.* A Chris- 
tian church in New Orleans, of which Mr. Clapp was the min- 
ister, found itself in serious financial difficulties with $45,- 
000 of indebtedness. Twenty-five thousand dollars was raised 
by private efforts, whereupon Mr. Touro purchased the build- 
ing itself for $20,000 and permitted the congregation to 
occupy the building rent-free until it was destroyed, after 
many years, by fire, when he furnished its most generous con- 

* " Autobiographical Sketches and Recollections," p. 24, et seq. 



Judah Touro — Kohler. 101 

tribution for a new building. To a friend who had suggested 
that he could profitably erect business buildings on the site, 
he promptly remarked on purchasing the church edifice : " I 
am a friend to religion and I will not pull down the church 
to increase my means ! " Mr. Clapp, moreover, received from 
him no less than $20,000 during his lifetime. When his sister 
died, leaving an estate of approximately $60,000 to him, he 
declined to accept the money, requesting instead that it be 
distributed among deserving charities. The Touro Infirmary 
at New Orleans was established during his lifetime. He be- 
came interested in reports concerning the " Old Stone Mill " 
of jSTewport, supposed to be a relic of the early Northmen's 
settlements in America, and bequeathed $10,000 for the acqui- 
sition of the site by that municipality. For many years he 
was practically the only Jewish resident of New Orleans; 
subsequently, as the Jewish population increased, he erected 
a synagogue building and donated it for such uses at an ex- 
pense of approximately $40,000. Thereafter he was a regu- 
lar and devoted worshiper at its services. By his will, signed 
January 6, 1854, less than two weeks before his death, he dis- 
tributed upwards of half a million of dollars to charitable 
purposes, two-thirds of the sum to non-Jewish purposes. Mr. 
Clapp, in commenting on this circumstance says : " I have 
never heard of but one religionist in the United States who 
can be compared with Mr. Touro, as regards the liberality of 
his benefactions to his own church; and he bestowed nothing 
on other denominations. But Mr. Touro gave more to stran- 
gers than to his brethren. With a generous profusion, he 
scattered his favors broadcast over the wide field of humanity. 
He knew well that many of the recipients of his bounty hated 
the Hebrews, and would, if possible, sweep them into anni- 
hilation." 

One cannot read the will of Judah Touro without being sur- 
prised at the accurate knowledge and familiarity acquired by 
him at this early date concerning the many Jewish communi- 
ties of the country near and far, their congregations, and their 



102 American Jewish Historical Society. 

charitable institutions, many of which owed their continued 
existence to his generous bounty/ Had it not been for his 
wise philanthropy, many of our boasted communal institu- 
tions in most distant sections of the country, would have 
found their efforts stifled for many years, at least, by want of 
necessary support. Eev. Isaac Leeser, at his funeral, ably 
summarized his will, containing upwards of 65 distinct be- 
quests, as follows : 

He thought of the widow and orphan in his own city and where 
he had dwelt in his youth, and devoted a portion of his means to 
their relief; and those to whom he has confided this trust are 
not of his own faith and kindred, and probably no Israelite will 
ever claim any benefit from the funds. He thought of the poor in 
his own city, and endowed a home of refuge to receive them in 
the day of their distress. He thought of those of his own per- 
suasion who suffer from the heavy hand of disease, and supplied 
the means to afford them relief, in several cities. He thought of 
the new and weak congregations in various towns, and afforded 
them the means to carry on their holy mission in dispensing the 
blessings which our faith is so well calculated to bestow. He 
thought of the necessity of diffusing religious education to the 
children of Israel; and with wise discrimination selected those 
institutions best calculated to farther this end, to make Jewish 
religion and Jewish literature accessible to the greatest number- 
He thought of those heavenly societies, whose mission it is to 
glide gently into the abodes of the poor, to leave the traces of 
benevolence, to cheer spirits which, without this, would droop 
into despair and gloom. He thought of the aflaicted in the land of 
Israel, to provide for them assistance in their distress, and pro- 
tection against the arm of violence; he, the merchant in the far 
West, who had lived for years separated from his people, almost 
a solitary worshiper of one God, amidst those who acknowledged 
Him not alone, forgot not those who still linger on the soil conse- 

° The will is appended as an appendix hereto chiefly because 
it is the best contemporary enumeration I know to be extant of 
the various Jewish communities of the United States and their 
institutions. Judah Touro obviously sought the best information 
obtainable concerning Jewish communities throughout the coun- 
try, and came to their assistance in a will which seems to have 
omitted no deserving Jewish community. 



Judah Touro — Kohler. 103 

crated by so many wonderful events which marked our early 
history, to cheer them on in the deprivations to which they are 
subjected. 

One reading the will cannot regard it as accidental that he 
should have expressed his "earnest wish to co-operate with 
Sir Moses Montefiore of London, Great Britain, in endeavor- 
ing to ameliorate the condition of our unfortunate Jewish 
brethren/' and to make a comparison between these two Jew- 
ish philanthropists of the nineteenth century is an obvious 
temptation. 

At the funeral exercises at New Orleans, Jew and Gentile 
vied with each other in their expressions of grief and respect, 
and these were even more marked at the obsequies at Newport, 
Ehode Island, on June 6, of the same year, 1854, which were 
attended by delegations from the numerous organizations he 
had so generously remembered, coming from all over the 
land. By official resolution of the public authorities of 
Newport, which had benefited so largely by his philanthropy, 
his executors and all these delegations became the guests of 
the municipality. During the funeral procession, the bells 
of the various churches were tolled, and all places of business 
were closed. Among those who officiated at Newport were 
Eev. J. K. Gutheim of New Orleans, Isaac Leeser of Philadel- 
phia, and Eev. M. J. Eaphall and Eev. S. M. Isaacs of '^ew 
York. A project to erect a monument to his memory was 
bitterly assailed, a few years later, as an alleged violation of 
Jewish law. Streets in both Newport and New Orleans 
were named after him in order to commemorate his generous 
philanthropy. 

His tomb-stone, in the Newport Cemetery, bears the fol- 
lowing appropriate inscription : 

By righteousness and integrity he collected his wealth; 
In charity and for salvation he dispensed it. 
The last of his name, he inscribed it in the book of philan- 
thropy 
To be remembered forever. 
9 



104 American Jeujish Historical Society. 

WILL OF THE LATE JUDAH TOURO. 

United States of America, 

State of Louisiana, City of New Oeleans. 

Be it known that on this sixth day of January, in the year of 
our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the independence 
of the United States of America the seventy-eighth, at a quarter 
before 10 o'clock a. m.. 

Before me, Thomas Layton, a Notary Public, in and for the 
city of New Orleans aforesaid, duly commissioned and sworn, 
and in presence of Messrs. Jonathan Montgomery, Henry Shep- 
herd, Jr., and George Washington Lee, competent witnesses, re- 
siding in said city, and hereto expressly required — 

Personally appeared Mr. Judah Touro, of this city, merchant, 
whom I, the said Notary, and said witnesses, found sitting in a 
room, at his residence, No. 128 Canal Street, sick of body, but 
sound in mind, memory, and judgment, as did appear to me, the 
said Notary, and to said witnesses. And the said Mr. Judah 
Touro requested me, the Notary, to receive his last will or testa- 
ment, which he dictated to me, Notary, as follows, to wit, and in 
presence of said witnesses: 

1. I declare that I have no forced heirs. 

2. I desire that my mortal remains be buried in the Jewish 
Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island, as soon as practicable after 
my decease. 

3. I nominate and appoint my trusty and esteemed friends 
Rezin Davis Shepherd of Virginia, Aaron Keppell Josephs of 
New Orleans, Gershom Kursheedt of New Orleans, and Pierre 
Andre Destrac Cazenave of New Orleans, my testamentary execu- 
tors, and the detainers of my estate, making, however, the follow- 
ing distinction between my said executors, to wit: To the said 
Aaron Keppell Josephs, Gershom Kursheedt, and Pierre Andre 
Destrac Cazenave, I give and bequeath to each one separately, the 
sum of ten thousand dollars, which legacies I intend respectively, 
not only as tokens of remembrance of those esteemed friends, but 
also as in consideration of all services they may have hitherto, 
rendered me, and in lieu of the commissions to which they would 
be entitled hereafter in the capacity of Testamentary Executors 
as aforesaid. And as regards my other designated executor, say 
my dear, old and devoted friend, Rezin Davis Shepherd, to whom, 
under Divine Providence, I was greatly indebted for the preserva- 
tion of my life when I was wounded on the 1st of January, 1815, 



Judah Touro — Eohler. 105 

I hereby appoint and institute him, the said Rezin Davis Shep- 
herd, after the payment of my particular legacies and the debts 
of my succession, the universal legatee of the rest and residue of 
my estate, movable and immovable. 

In case of the death, absence or inability to act of one or more 
of my said Executors, I hereby empower the remaining Executor 
or Executors to act in carrying out the provisions of this my last 
will; and in the event of the death or default, of any one or more 
of my said Executors before my own demise; then and in that 
case, it is my intention that the heirs or legal representatives of 
those who may depart this life before my own death, shall in- 
herit in their stead the legacies herein above respectively made 
to them. 

4. I desire that all leases of my property and which may be in 
force at- the time of my demise, shall be faithfully executed until 
the same shall have expired. 

5. I desire that all the estate, real, personal and mixed, of 
which I may die possessed, shall be disposed of in the manner 
directed by this my last will or testament. 

6. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation the " Dis- 
persed of Judah " of the City of New Orleans, all that certain 
property situated in Bourbon Street, immediately adjoining their 
Synagogue, being the present schoolhouse, and the residence of 
the said Mr. Gershom Kursheedt, the same purchased by me from 
the bank of Louisiana; and also to the said Hebrew Congregation, 
the two adjoining brick houses purchased from the heirs of David 
Urquhart, the revenue of said property to be applied to the found- 
ing and support of the Hebrew school connected with said Con- 
gregation, as well as to the defraying of the salary of their 
Reader or Minister, said property to be conveyed accordingly by 
my said executors to said Congregation with all necessary re- 
strictions. 

7. I give and bequeath to found the Hebrew Hospital of New 
Orleans the entire property purchased for me, at the succession 
sale of the late C. Paulding, upon which property the building 
now known as the "Touro Infirmary" is situated; the said con- 
templated Hospital to be organized according to law, as a char- 
itable institution for the relief of the indigent sick, by my ex- 
ecutors and such other persons as they may associate with them 
conformably with the laws of Louisiana. 

8. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Benevolent Association of 
New Orleans five thousand dollars. 

9. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Shan- 
garai Chassed " of New Orleans five thousand dollars. 



106 American Jewish Historical Society. 

10. I give and bequeath to the Ladies' Benevolent Society of 
New Orleans, the sum of five thousand dollars. 

11. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Foreign Mission Society 
of New Orleans, five thousand dollars. 

12. I give and bequeath to the Orphans' Home Asylum of New 
Orleans, the sum of five thousand dollars. 

13. I give and bequeath to the Society for the relief of Desti- 
tute Orphan Boys in the Fourth District, five thousand dollars. 

14. I give and bequeath to the St. Armas Asylum for the relief 
of destitute females and children, the sum of five thousand dol- 
lars. 

15. I give and bequeath to the New Orleans Female Orphan 
Asylum, at the corner of Camp and Prytania streets, five thou- 
sand dollars. 

16. I give and bequeath to the St. Mary's Catholic Boys' Asy- 
lum, of which my old and esteemed friend Mr. Anthony Rasch is 
chairman of its Executive Committee, the sum of five thousand 
dollars. 

17. I give and bequeath to the Milne Asylum of New Orleans, 
five thousand dollars. 

18. I give and bequeath to the " Firemen's Charitable Associa- 
tion " of New Orleans, five thousand dollars. 

19. I give and bequeath to the " Seamen's Home," in the First 
District of New Orleans, five thousand dollars. 

20. I give and bequeath, for the purpose of establishing an 
" Alms House " in the City of New Orleans, and with a view of 
contributing, as far as possible, to the prevention of mendicity 
in said city, the sum of eighty thousand dollars, (say $80,000) 
and I desire that the " Alms House " thus contemplated shall be 
organized according to law; and further, it is my desire that 
after my executors shall have legally organized and established 
said contemplated Alms House, and appointed proper persons to 
administer and control the direction of its affairs, then such per- 
sons legally so appointed and their successors, in office, con- 
jointly with the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, and his suc- 
cessors in office, shall have the perpetual direction and control 
thereof. 

21. I give and bequeath to the City of Newport, in the State of 
Rhode Island, the sum of ten thousand dollars, on condition that 
the said sum be expended in the purchase and improvement of the 
property in said city, known as the " Old Stone Mill," to be kept 
as a public park or promenade ground. 

22. I give and bequeath to the " Redwood Library " of Newport 
aforesaid, for books and repairs, three thousand dollars. 



Judah Touro — Kohler. 107 

23. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Ohabay 
Shalome " of Boston, Massachusetts, five thousand dollars. 

24. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation of Hart- 
ford, Connecticut, five thousand dollars. 

25. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation of New 
Haven, Connecticut, five thousand dollars. 

26. I give and bequeath to the North American Relief Society, 
for the Indigent Jews of Jerusalem, Palestine, of the City and 
State of New York (Sir Moses Montefiore of London, their agent), 
ten thousand dollars. 

27. It being my earnest wish to co-operate with the said Sir 
Moses Montefiore of London, Great Britain, in endeavoring to 
ameliorate the condition of our unfortunate Jewish Brethren, in 
the Holy Land, and to secure to them the inestimable privilege of 
worshipping the Almighty according to our religion, without 
molestation, I therefore give and bequeath the sum of fifty thou- 
sand dollars, to be paid by my Executors for said object, through 
the said Sir Moses Montefiore, in such manner as he may advise, 
as best calculated to promote the aforesaid objects; and in case of 
any legal or other difiiculty or impediment in the way of carry- 
ing said bequest into effect, according to my intentions, then and 
in that case, I desire that the said sum of fifty thousand dollars 
be invested by my Executors in the foundation of a Society in the 
City of New Orleans, similar in its objects to the " North Ameri- 
can Relief Society for the Indigent Jews of Jerusalem, Palestine, 
of the City of New York," to which I have before referred in this 
my last will. 

28. It is my wish and desire that the Institutions to which I 
have already alluded in making this will, as well as those to 
which in the further course of making this will, I shall refer, 
shall not be disqualified from inheriting my legacies to them 
respectively made, for reason of not being incorporated, and 
thereby not qualified to inherit by law; but on the contrary, I 
desire that the parties interested in such institutions and my 
executors shall facilitate their organization as soon after my de- 
cease as possible, and thus render them duly qualified by law to 
inherit in the premises according to my wishes. 

29. I give and bequeath to the Jews' Hospital Society of the 
City and State of New York twenty thousand dollars. 

30. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Benevolent Society 
" Meshibat Nafesh " of New York, five thousand dollars. 

31. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Benevolent Society 
" Gemilut Chased " of New York, five thousand dollars. 



108 American Jewish Historical Society. 

32. I give and bequeath to the " Talmud Torah " School Fund 
attached to the Hebrew Congregation " Shearith Israel," of the 
City of New York, and to said Congregation, thirteen thousand 
dollars. 

33. I give and bequeath to the Educational Institute of the He- 
brew Congregation " B'nai Jeshurun " of the City of New York, 
the sum of three thousand dollars. 

34. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Shan- 
garai Tefila," of New York, three thousand dollars. 

35. I give and bequeath to the Ladies' Benevolent Society of 
the City of New York, the same of which Mrs. Richey Levy was 
a directress at the time of her death, and of which Mrs. I. B. 
Kursheedt was first directress in 1850, three thousand dollars. 

36. I give and bequeath to the Female Hebrew Benevolent So- 
ciety of Philadelphia (Miss Gratz, Secretary), three thousand dol- 
lars. 

37. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Education Society of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, twenty thousand dollars. 

38. I give to the United Hebrew Benevolent Society of Phila- 
delphia, aforesaid, three thousand dollars. 

39. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation "Ahabat 
Israel," of Fell's Point, Baltimore, three thousand dollars. 

40. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Beth 
Shalome," of Richmond, Virginia, five thousand dollars. 

41. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Shearith 
Israel," of Charleston, South Carolina, the sum of five thousand 
dollars. 

42. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Shan- 
garai Shamoyim," of Mobile, Alabama, two thousand dollars. 

43. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Mikve 
Israel," of Savannah, Georgia, five thousand dollars. 

44. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation of Mont- 
gomery, Alabama, two thousand dollars. 

45. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation of Mem- 
phis, Tennessee, two thousand dollars. 

46. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Adas 
Israel," of Louisville, Kentucky, three thousand dollars. 

47. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation " Bnai Is- 
rael," of Cincinnati, Ohio, three thousand dollars. 

48. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew School, " Talmud Yelo- 
dim," of Cincinnati, Ohio, five thousand dollars. 

49. I give and bequeath to the Jews' Hospital, of Cincinnati, 
Ohio, five thousand dollars. 



Judah Touro — Kohler. 109 

50. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation, " Tifereth 
Israel," of Cleveland, Ohio, three thousand dollars. 

51. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation, " Bnai 
El," of St. Louis, Missouri, three thousand dollars. 

52. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation, " Beth El," 
of Buffalo, New York, three thousand dollars. 

53. I give and bequeath to the Hebrew Congregation of " Beth 
El," of Albany, New York, three thousand dollars. 

54. I give and bequeath to the three following Institutions, 
named in the will of my greatly beloved brother, the late Abra- 
ham- Touro, of Boston, the following sums: 

First, to the Asylum of Orphan Boys, in Boston, Massachusetts, 
five thousand dollars. 

Second. To the Female Orphan Asylum of Boston aforesaid, 
five thousand dollars. 

Third. And to the Massachusetts Female Hospital, ten thou- 
sand dollars. 

55. I give and bequeath ten thousand dollars for the purpose of 
paying the salary of a Reader or Minister to officiate in the Jew- 
ish Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, and to endow the Min- 
istry of the same, as well as to keep in repair and embellish the 
Jewish Cemetery in Newport aforesaid; the said amount to be 
appropriated and paid, or invested for that purpose in such manner 
as my executors may determine concurrently with the corporation 
of Newport aforesaid, if necessary. And it is my wish and desire, 
that David Gould and Nathan H. Gould, sons of my esteemed 
friend the late Isaac Gould, Esq., of Newport aforesaid, should 
continue to oversee the improvements in said Cemetery and direct 
the same; and as a testimony of my regard and in consideration 
of services rendered by their said father, I give and bequeath the 
sum of two thousand dollars to be equally divided between them, 
the said David and said Nathan H. Gould. 

56. I give and bequeath five thousand dollars to Miss Catharine 
Hays, now of Richmond, Virginia, as an expression of the kind 
remembrance in which that esteemed friend is held by me. 

57. I give and bequeath to the Misses Catharine, Harriet and 
Julia Myers, the three daughters of Mr. Moses M. Myers, of 
Richmond, Virginia, the sum of seven thousand dollars, to be 
equally divided between them. 

58. I give and bequeath the sum of seven thousand dollars to 
the surviving children of the late Samuel Mj^ers. of Richmond, 
Virginia, to be equally divided between them, in token of my 
remembrance. 



110 American Jewish Historical Society. 

59. I give and bequeath to my friend Mr. Supply Clapp Twing, 
of Boston, Mass., the sum of five thousand dollars, as a token of 
my esteem and kind remembrance. 

60. I give and bequeath the sum of three thousand dollars to 
my respected friend the Rev. Isaac Leeser, of Philadelphia, as a 
token of my regard. 

61. I give and bequeath the sum of three thousand dollars to 
my friends the Rev. Moses N. Nathan, now of London, and his 
wife, to be equally divided between them. 

62. I give and bequeath the sum of three thousand dollars to 
my friend the Rev. Theodore Clapp, of New Orleans, in token of 
my remembrance. 

63. To Mistress Ellen Brooks, wife of Gorham Brooks, Esquire, 
of Boston, Massachusetts, and daughter of my friend and ex- 
ecutor Rezin Davis Shepherd, I give the sum of five thousand dol- 
lars, the same to be employed by my executors, in the purchase 
of a suitable memorial to her as an earnest of my very kind 
regard. 

64. I give and bequeath the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars, 
to be employed by my executors in the purchase of a suitable 
memorial of my esteem, to be presented to Mrs. M. D. Josephs, 
wife of my friend, Aaron K. Josephs, Esq., of this city. 

65. I give and bequeath the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars 
to be employed by my executors in the purchase of a suitable 
memorial of my esteem for Mistress Rebecca Kursheedt, wife of 
Mr. Benjamin Florance, of New Orleans. 

66. I revoke all other wills or testaments, which I may have 
made previously to these presents. 

Thus, it was, that this testament or last will was dictated to 
me, the notary, by the said testator, in presence of the witnesses 
herein above named, and undersigned, and I have written the 
same, such as it was dictated to me, by the testator, in my own 
proper hand, in presence of said witnesses; and having read this 
testament in a loud and audible voice to the said testator, in pres- 
ence of said witnesses, he, the said testator, declared in the same 
presence, that he well understood the same and persisted therein. 

All of which was done at one time without interruption or turn- 
ing aside to other acts. 

Thus done and passed at the said City of New Orleans, at the 
said residence of the said Mr. Judah Touro, the day, month and 
year first before written in the presence of Messrs Jonathan 
Montgomery, Henry Shepherd, Jr., and George Washington Lee, 



Judah Touro — Kohler. Ill 

all three being the witnesses as aforesaid, who, with the said 
testator, and me, the said notary, have hereunto signed their 
names. (Signed.) 

J. TOUEO, 

J. Montgomery, 

H. Shepherd, Jr., 

Geo. W. Lee, 

Thos. Latton, Notary Puilic. 



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